Virgin Media O2 Business and Cebr have published a new report, ‘The economic and social benefits of digitalisation’, revealing the significant growth potential UK businesses have left untapped. The report highlights that if all British-based firms had increased their digital technology usage in 2021, the economy could have seen a staggering £111 billion boost in turnover by 2023.

Atlas.co has announced its $2 million pre-seed funding round led by climate-focused VC fund Pale Blue Dot, high-profile investors Ben Lang (early employee and ex-community lead at Notion), and Andreas Klinger (ex-CTO and founding team at Product Hunt).

Bitsight has announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cybersixgill, a global cyber threat intelligence (CTI) data provider. Together, Bitsight and Cybersixgill will provide unmatched visibility into an organisation’s external attack surface, supply chain, and the threats targeting it. As a result, security leaders can proactively identify, prioritise, and mitigate risk across their first and third party environments. 

Future Planet Capital is working with NatWest Cushon, with a view to the Cushon Master Trust potentially making an investment in the British Co-Investment Fund (BCF). Any future investment will be subject to commercial terms, due diligence, and Trustee approval. If approved, NatWest Cushon’s participation would signify a major step forward, creating new avenues for British pension funds to access high-growth, private technology companies at scale.

“From a young age, I was deeply immersed in the world of technology, imspired by my grandfather, a pioneering engineer who played a key role in constructing the first computers in the 1950s. This unique upbringing, which involved soldering computers and circuits with my grandfather, instilled in me a profound appreciation for technology and innovation,” reminisced Roman Axelrod.

Research by Towergate Employee Benefits shows that over a quarter (26%) of employers are missing out by not benchmarking the benefits they offer to their workforce, in comparison to those offered by other companies. The research also reveals that just 40% of companies benchmark by sector, 37% by location, and only 30% by size of company.

KSA Group Limited, insolvency practitioners who run the Company Rescue website, has researched the UK SME market of over 4 million businesses in an attempt to see if there was a gender bias on the board of companies that become insolvent.

MintNeuro, a startup working on scalable, low-power semiconductor technology for minimally-invasive neural implant applications, has announced it has raised £1 million in a funding round led by Empirical Ventures. Additional investment came from Parkwalk Advisors (through the Imperial College Enterprise Fund), Imperial College London, Plug & Play, Excellis Holding, and several prominent angel investors.

As Apple unveils its new Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy, “Apple Intelligence”, businesses across various sectors will be anticipating its potential impact. At Slalom we have seen that 84% of UK businesses are already using AI but the majority are in the exploratory stage of implementation, with only 6% having a robust AI strategy. Is Apple’s new offering set to change that?

The power that comes with being in charge can be a wonderful thing. It enables us to make decisions, direct activity and have an impact across a broader scale. But it isn’t just an enabler, because it also changes the people who wield it. Sometimes for the better, but all too often in subtle, hidden ways that make the job of being a leader much more difficult.

New research conducted by energy transactions company tem. has revealed vast shortcomings in the energy market, which are feeding distrust and misconceptions among UK businesses and preventing them from switching to green power.

Winners of a £1.4 million competition to transform the transport sector, grow the economy and inspire innovation have been announced by the Department for Transport.

tozero, a European startup in the sustainable lithium-ion battery recycling space, has raised €11 million in an oversubscribed seed round led by NordicNinja. New investors joining this funding round include In-Q-Tel (IQT), automotive giant Honda, and global infrastructure engineering giant JGC Group. Existing investors including Atlantic Labs, Verve Ventures and Possible Ventures, also doubled down.

Originating in Cambridge, UK, Luminance was conceived by a team of mathematicians and AI experts who recognised the immense potential of AI in transforming the legal industry's approach to the vast amounts of documentation and data involved in legal work.

MicroHarvest, a company in sustainable microbial protein, has achieved a key milestone by demonstrating an ability to scale its production process to 10 tonnes per day in a single vessel, representing a ten-fold increase over its current capacity.